Obtaining Indra's Chakra

Sasuke could not be bothered with Naruto.

He turned to Feng Yao. "Big Brother Feng Yao, let's go. I have a lot of questions I want to ask you..."

"Haha, all right." Feng Yao nodded.

"Sasuke, it's already mealtime. You haven't eaten yet, have you? Come along."

"Okay." Sasuke nodded.

Feng Yao looked at Naruto.

"Want to come with us?"

Feng Yao's smile was gentle.

"Huh? B-but I don't have any money..."

Naruto immediately grew nervous.

Puzzled for a moment, Sasuke looked at Naruto.

"Hehe, it's fine. My treat."

"Really?!"

At the mention of a treat, Naruto's eyes lit up.

"I never lie."

Feng Yao found it a little amusing, but he also felt sympathy.

He had promised Minato and Kushina that he would look after Naruto. He would not break his word like a certain Hokage.

"Yeah!"

"Big brother, I know a ramen shop nearby. It's really good!"

Naruto was excited.

"Oh, really? Then let's go."

Feng Yao knew the ramen Naruto mentioned was probably Ichiraku Ramen. After all, Ōtsutsuki Ichiraku's great name had spread far and wide in his previous life.

Of course, memes aside, Feng Yao was still very interested in Ichiraku.

He was one of the few people in the village who did not reject the Uchiha. That alone gave Feng Yao a very favorable impression of him.

"Teuchi!"

As soon as they reached Ichiraku Ramen Shop, Naruto eagerly greeted Teuchi.

Teuchi was one of the few villagers who did not hate Naruto, so naturally, Naruto liked coming here.

"Oh, Naruto! You brought guests, too. What would you like? New customers get twenty percent off."

"Naruto, since you brought new customers, you get half off."

Teuchi always wore a kindly expression. He did not believe the village's claims that Naruto was a demon fox.

But he was only an ordinary villager with a family to support, so he could only help Naruto with little things.

"Really? That's great!"

Naruto was overjoyed to hear that his ramen was half price.

"Order whatever you want. Boss, one bowl of pork rib ramen."

Feng Yao ordered a serving of pork rib ramen.

"Sasuke, the eggs here are really good. Want to try them?"

Sasuke wanted to remain aloof, but he could not withstand Naruto's enthusiasm, so he "reluctantly" agreed.

"Hmph, then I'll have a bowl."

"Coming right up!" Teuchi turned to get to work.

"Haha, Sasuke, I guarantee you'll like it!"

Before long, three steaming bowls of ramen were served.

Naruto took a deep sniff of the aroma. "It smells amazing!"

Sasuke had little interest in the ramen.

He desperately wanted to know why his big brother, Uchiha Itachi, had betrayed the clan.

Even though he, too, seemed to have noticed that something was wrong with the relationship between the Uchiha and the village.

After all, Sasuke just liked showing off. He was not actually stupid.

Naturally, Feng Yao knew what Sasuke was thinking. "Eat first. Once we're back at the Ancestral Land, I'll explain everything to you slowly."

Hearing this, Sasuke could only suppress his impatience.

"Ah, that was delicious~ Burp!"

Naruto happily rubbed his stomach, feeling that Ichiraku Ramen was the best thing in the world.

Sasuke had finished eating as well.

Seeing this, Feng Yao paid the bill.

Feng Yao led Sasuke and Naruto out of Ichiraku Ramen.

"Come again!"

"Yeah, Teuchi, I'll definitely come again next time."

At the fork in the road, Naruto knew it was time to part. For a moment, he felt reluctant to leave and dejected inside, but he still put on a carefree front.

With Feng Yao's keen perception, he noticed immediately and stroked Naruto's hair.

"See you tomorrow, then. My name is Uchiha Fengyao. You can call me Big Brother Feng Yao, like Sasuke does."

"Okay!"

For a moment, Naruto felt his nose sting and his eyes redden slightly. He nodded vigorously.

"See you tomorrow, Big Brother Feng Yao!"

Naruto waved goodbye and left first.

He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, Sasuke would laugh at him.

The Anbu hidden in the shadows all breathed sighs of relief, Kakashi included.

After all, they had all witnessed Uchiha Fengyao's strength.

Unless absolutely necessary, they really did not want to provoke him.

Then they quickly followed Naruto, who was still running home.

Noticing that the gazes from the shadows had disappeared, Feng Yao paid them no mind.

Feng Yao took Sasuke with him, ready to return to the Ancestral Land.

"Big Brother Feng Yao, you seem pretty nice to Naruto..."

Sasuke looked at Feng Yao.

Deep down, Sasuke actually sympathized with Naruto, unlike what his outward behavior suggested.

Feng Yao merely smiled without speaking.

It's more than just interest. He's your lifelong rival, Sasuke...

"Big Brother Feng Yao, big brother, why did you..."

On the way, Sasuke finally could not hold back and asked.

This time, Feng Yao did not keep silent.

"Sasuke, do you know about the relationship between the Uchiha and the village?"

Sasuke froze, clearly not expecting Feng Yao to ask that.

Sasuke thought for a moment and said, "We Uchiha are the village's greatest clan..."

"That's right, but do you know why we're the greatest clan?"

At those words, Sasuke froze again. He thought seriously for a while. "Because of the Sharingan?"

"Yes, but that's not the whole answer."

Feng Yao glanced at Sasuke.

"Do you know how Konoha was founded?"

Without waiting for Sasuke to answer, Feng Yao continued.

"It was founded jointly by us Uchiha and the Senju. But ever since the village was founded, its people have never really trusted us. Or rather, they reject us Uchiha..."

"Ridiculous, isn't it? The founders of the village ended up being rejected..."

"And our Sharingan have always been coveted..."

"Only strength can keep us Uchiha from being wiped out..."

Feng Yao seemed immersed in his own world, paying no attention to Sasuke, who was already utterly dumbfounded beside him.

At that moment, Sasuke felt his worldview beginning to crumble. For the first time, he felt that this village-or rather, this world-was so unfamiliar.

Seemingly noticing the change in Sasuke, Feng Yao stopped talking to himself.

"Sasuke, you're still young. This is all I can tell you. Some things require you to find the answers yourself..."

Feng Yao returned to his earlier gentle manner and ruffled Sasuke's hair, just as he had stroked Naruto's head.

Done!

Of course, Feng Yao had not forgotten his purpose in coming: obtaining Indra's chakra.

He had obtained a few strands of Sasuke's hair to give to Orochimaru for research. He believed Orochimaru would not disappoint him.

As for Sasuke, Feng Yao had high hopes for him.

If not for the plot forcing his defeat and Naruto's talk-no-jutsu, Sasuke's ideas at the Valley of the End were actually the ones most in line with the realities of the world.

Unfortunately, Kishimoto's vision was simply too limited...

In the original story, Sasuke had only awakened the one-tomoe Sharingan when his entire clan was massacred. Feng Yao actually did not think this was because Sasuke was coldhearted or lacked talent.

On the contrary, Feng Yao believed Sasuke should have awakened the Mangekyo at the time.

But he had only been six then and probably had not built up much chakra. How could he have withstood the power of the Mangekyo?

So Feng Yao believed that Sasuke's body's stress response had caused him to awaken only the one-tomoe Sharingan and pass out.

Anyone who had watched Naruto knew what kind of person Sasuke was, and his talent went without saying. Did they think being the reincarnation of Indra's chakra was a joke?